Thieves raid Bessemer historical sites for scrap metal

Several men were found with a section of a U.S. Steel-owned, rivetted steel bridge loaded on the trailer of a four-wheel drive truck. Several sections of the bridge had been cut out and other structures related to iron-ore mines in the area, including a water tower and a wheel house, have been damaged. (The Birmingham News / Joe Songer)

Bessemer police arrested one man and are seeking another who has been raiding historical industrial sites on Red Mountain and carting away the metal for scrap.

According to Bessemer Police Detective Perry Hurst, the men were found with a section of a U.S. Steel-owned, riveted steel bridge loaded on the trailer of a four-wheel drive truck.

Several sections of the bridge had been cut out, and other structures related to iron ore mines in the area, including a water tower and a wheel house, have been damaged.

Wendy Jackson, executive director of the Freshwater Land Trust, said the theft was not just an assault on an important piece of industrial history, the bridge and the rail right-of-way leading to it were being considered for inclusion in a greenway plan.

They could be part of a system linking western communities to Red Mountain Park, and damage done by scrap thieves may be irreparable, Jackson said.

"It's just a real loss," she said.

The incident was reminiscent of the burning of a massive railroad trestle in Brookside that spanned a deep gorge and was to have been included in the Five Mile Creek greenway. Trails are not expensive, but the bridge links can be tremendously expensive, Jackson said.

"These structures they are tearing up tell the story of Birmingham and Jefferson County and are an important part of our industrial heritage," she said.

Hurst declined to release the name of the man arrested because charges have not been filed against him. Bessemer police are seeking the other man.

Hurst said the arrested man told police he and the other man had been out to the Red Mountain site on four occasions and were selling the metal they harvested for scrap.

The men got $200 on a load, according to reports.

The resulting damage will cost many thousands of dollars to fix, if it can be repaired at all.

The bridge was on the TCI rail line that connected the Muscoda mines in Bessemer to the highline railroad that once carried iron ore to its steel mills, according to U.S. Steel.

The bridge crossed over an L&N railroad line that served a Sloss Company mine. It was about 80 feet long and was 24 feet above the L&N track.

Alabama Labor Commissioner Jim Bennett, who is a member of the Red Mountain Park Commission and is the vice-chairman of the Alabama Historic Ironworks Commission, said this is not an isolated incident. He said the state should consider making it a more serious crime to destroy historic artifacts, a misdemeanor that now carries a maximum fine of $1,000.

"It is particularly reprehensible when someone would steal our history and deny it to future generations," he said. "This is especially the case at a time when renewed efforts are being made to save artifacts and structures from our industrial beginnings like the ore mines on Red Mountain."